Motherwell Ladies FC – 2017 season preview

Posted on December 19, 2016 •

After a successful first season since it’s creation, SWPL 2 will have three new faces in the division for 2017 in the form of Motherwell, East Fife, and Forfar Farmington. In the run-up to the new season, the SWPL will be looking at these new additions and their hopes in perhaps the most competitive league within Scottish Women’s football.

In our first edition, we spoke to Motherwell Ladies Head Coach, Mark Kirk. Appointed back in the summer of 2016, the young but experienced coach has steered the team to promotion immediately.

“It was a challenging year for the players, coaches and club competing in Division 1 South,” he said. “There are a lot of good teams in the league which made it difficult for us. In the end, we are delighted to come away league winners.”

When asked if the thought of joining SWPL 2 feared or excited the team, Mark responded, “It’s exciting times and the players should relish the opportunity to play in such a competitive league next season that matches their own standard. I believe next season will be even stronger from last with teams such as Forfar, East Fife, and ourselves.

“We want to be moving forward as a club and improve in order to give ourselves the best chance of doing well in SWPL 2. We certainly don’t want to just make up the numbers, we want to be competitive.”

Given the competitive nature of the league, the battle for the elusive top spot and promotion to the highest level of Scottish Women’s football went right down to the wire. With that in mind, Mark expects there to be more of the same this season.

“Hearts and Glasgow Girls were close last year and with Forfar now in the league, it will be very competitive that’s for sure,” he said. “However there are other teams in the league such as Hutchie Vale and Jeanfield who are looking to improve on last year also.”

Finally, looking beyond next year, we asked Mark what ambitions the team have for the long term future. “Our Ambition is to continue moving forward together, always looking to improve our squad and resources to give the club the best chance of future success,” he said. “We want to be in the top league competing against top players. It won’t be done overnight but we are on the correct path.”

We’d like to thank Mark for taking the time to talk with us and we wish him and Motherwell Ladies all the very best for the 2017 season.